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Jun 11, 2014

Friends, it has always seemed strange to me that there weren't more movie and/or celebrity tie-in pattern lines over the years.
I mean, sure, there were a few celebrity pattern lines, primarily in the Seventies. Here are the ones I'm aware of and please tell me if I missed any:

UPDATE: Reader Lynn B. has reminded me of two more: Dorothy Hamill for Butterick and Jayne Kennedy, also for Butterick. Thanks, Lynn!

I'm not including the long-defunct Hollywood pattern line, since the stars on the pattern envelopes presumably had nothing to do with the patterns themselves.

I can only come up with one true movie tie-in pattern line: The Sound of Music (mainly dirndls) in the Sixties. And then, in the Seventies, the Broadway musical (and, later, Hollywood movie), Annie.
Now, I get that little girls might want to wear outfits inspired by everyone's favorite Depression-era comic strip orphan, or their mothers might want to dress them that way. A lot of these patterns are relatively classic.

Evidently children's patterns weren't enough for the powers-the-be at McCalls. Say hello to the Annie, Too pattern line! The tag line: "Fun Clothes For a Grown-up Annie." What does that even mean? And what is the aesthetic here? It's all over the place. (Perhaps they were leftovers discovered upon sweeping out Marlo's Corner.)

Readers, I just don't get it.

So this is where you come in: I need you to explain to me the Annie, Too pattern line.

What was the meeting where this idea was pitched and how did they sell it?

38 comments:

The "Smartest Girls In The Room" at McCall's had a meeting one day, and each girl smarter than the rest tried to come up with "Cree AYE tive" ideas, and sell boatloads of stuff. They probably printed 1,000 copies of each pattern, such was their enthusiasm, and sold them off two a month for years.

BTDT, Got The T-shirt. "There Is Nothing So Powerful As An Idea Whose Time Has Come."

It seems like, with the exception of the swim suit and futuristic pant suit, that it could be called "the little house on the prairie collection" just as easily. There's no 1930's vibe to this collection at all.

I'd say that McCalls paid a lot for the privilege of slapping "Annie" on the front of their patterns, hoping to jump on the Annie bandwagon. Annie Too just allowed them to expand the number of patterns with that familiar logo.

I was recently researching how many pattern envelopes Susan Dey modeled on, and all I can come up with is two - the wrap skirt (I bought that at a thrift in the last two weeks) and the little dress that has the two part sleeves. She modeled for the pattern catalogs, but I couldn't find any other examples of her on actual pattern envelopes. Her name didn't appear on them as an endorsement or designer.

pattern companies still use shows/celebrities for patterns, but mostly for childrens patterns. Simplicity has Hanna Montana, Lizzie McQuire, Shake It Up, in addition to all the Disney fairies and princesses. McCalls tried that Hillary Duff line for "contemporary looking" patterns (or was she the designer on those, not too sure). Maybe they think that adults are more inspired by fashion designers and sewing bloggers (Gertie has a sewing line now). I thought the Annie,too line as going to be more around Warbuck's secretary, but some of those do kind of look like grown up Annie outfits.

Yep. I've got a Diahann Carroll, too -- a whole wardrobe of separates that I made up in solid-colored linen. They're looking more and more stylish as the years go by ... might have to revisit that camisole, jacket, skirt and trews.

My goodness! It wasn't an evil plot. Rather the popularity of all things Annie.McCall's had paid for the license, so created patterns informed by the Annie Bdway show/film + just general 70's influence.

Susan Dey was a model long before appearing on television and was photographed on sewing patterns and in craft publications. She didn't create the designs, just posed in them.

There was also a line with Shari Belafonte-Harper! That one was a head scratcher because besides being in the late night 80s soap Hotel, I don't remember her being big at all. Yup, she's Harry's daughter,

a boy, a dream, and 10+ sewing machines

I'm a native New Yorker and sewing fanatic! I started sewing in 2009 and today make all my own clothes using vintage sewing machines and vintage patterns, in addition to sewing for private clients. Welcome to the warm and whimsical world of Male Pattern Boldness, where the conversation is sewing, style, fashion, fabric, and more!